Jitters and snags before a wedding have become a genre in film comedies. With marriage equality, it was only a matter of time before same-sex couplings would join the fray. "Do You Take This Man," just released on DVD by Breaking Glass Pictures, purports to be this contribution, but its inadequacies reveal how lame this category can be. The couple in question, Daniel and Christopher, are played by gay actors, Anthony Rapp and Jonathan Bennett respectively, but they are undermined by a weak script.
Daniel is organizing a rehearsal dinner for close friends and family as they prepare to celebrate his and Christopher's wedding the next day. We learn he is successful, though we are never told how he earned his wealth. The gregarious Christopher's two best airhead friends, Summer and Bradley, surprise him with their wedding gift in the form of Emma (Alona Tal), very close with Christopher during his teenage years but out of touch for 20 years. This sudden addition to the dinner party throws control freak Daniel into a panic attack. He is upset that Christopher had never mentioned his friend prior to this announcement. What other secrets might he be hiding?
Christopher seems upset by Daniel's close relationship with his best friend Jacob (underused Mackenzie Astin, the late Patty Duke's son). They might have had a longer dating history than previously admitted. Daniel's intrusive but supportive parents (Sam Anderson and Lee Garlington) arrive as a PFLAG dream duo, along with his emotional basket-case sister Rachel (Alyson Hannigan), recovering from a divorce. Christopher is estranged from his family, not even telling them he is getting married. Then their new age friend Sue, who was supposed to have married them, has to cancel at the last minute because she has received an acting role in a new Scorsese film (an only-in-LA-type crisis). Christopher is afraid to tell Daniel because it might lead to a meltdown. Predictably, the disclosure boils over into a fight. Is the wedding still on?
We discover from cast interviews that writer-director Joshua Tunick based the film on his own straight experiences. This isn't to say that heterosexuals can't make great LGBT films, but the fact that you could easily have substituted a straight couple for Daniel and Christopher is a major part of the problem here. There is no emotional drama. Most of the audience won't care whether they marry, since they seem opposite personalities destined for divorce. With all the close-ups of two-person dialogues, the movie often feels more like a stage play. It's static, with little humor and sluggish direction.
The acting is the only reason this film is watchable. Anthony Rapp, famous for "Rent," helps us empathize with an anxious guy who overthinks everything. While looking the part of the dreamy boy toy, Bennett is not in Rapp's acting league. In his big angry scene, he comes across as a twink having a hissy-fit. Acting veterans Anderson and Garlington both excel, but viewers can't help wondering how they produced two such neurotic children. Hanigan has a fabulous scene helping Daniel sort through his contradictory feelings towards Christopher, but she is hampered by the material. The answer to the title "Do You Take This Man" is, No we do not.